Fireflies
by Laughing Princess
Summary: History repeats itself; Sasuke's always known that. So when his teammates, his new "family," begin to give him flashbacks of what his life had been like previous to the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke can't help but worry over them: especially a certain pink-haired woman that has been clouding his thoughts too much for comfort lately. "Don't try to shut me out." "Life lies in the future."


**Hello everyone! ^_^ Yup! This is my third Sasusaku oneshot, so enjoy!**

**Random fact: I love summer rain! **

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"_I'm losing myself; I can't even remember my name without you._

_Now will you let go of me, let go of me?_

_I'm trapped._

_I'm trapped."_

_-_Henry Lao, Song: _Trap_

* * *

Sasuke walked with his head held high and his hands in his pockets through the Leaf Village, an indifferent expression on his face. By now, he was used to this routine, and he found that he never really cared. Every woman, regardless of what village they were from, would always allow themselves to look from his face to his shoulders, commemorating his flawlessness to their memories. Most of them would regret their relationship with their boyfriend, or daydream that they _weren't_ married, replacing Sasuke with their husbands. And then, filled with that regret, the women would always walk on, because they knew that it was pointless to go for him, regardless of whether they were single or not.

The whole village hadn't yet fully accepted Sasuke's return. To date Sasuke would, unfortunately, be social suicide, though Sasuke knew many girls wouldn't mind. He was handsome, and Sasuke knew it. Not in an arrogant way, though. It was merely a simple fact.

The sky was completely cloudless today; a few birds flew above Sasuke's head, and there was a pleasant breeze that continually swept through the Leaf Village. It was days like these that Sasuke particularly liked. Peaceful, warm days. The kind of day that made you feel like nothing could possibly be wrong with the world, that everything was absolutely fine and problem-free.

But the world was _not_ problem-free. Problems were everywhere. Somewhere out there, Sasuke knew, there were some sickos that kidnapped girls, killed for the sake of killing, and some who were already planning attacks against certain villages, or even certain people.

Instantly Sasuke's thoughts, without any warning, went to Sakura, of her beaming face, her emerald eyes that always seemed to sparkle with amusement and happiness. He doubted that she had ever really considered it, but Sasuke knew that there were probably some people that targeted Sakura. She was insanely strong, after all. Her involvement with defeating Obito and Madara Uchiha had practically proved to the whole world that she was much stronger than what she looked. Some people would get jealous, or even fearful, of that fact.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. Fear made people do stupid, idiotic things. Things that could even get innocent people killed—people like Sakura. The very thought of something bad happening to her made Sasuke feel anger swell up within him, but he quickly tried to squash it down with a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he finally came to a stop in front of the Uchiha estate. Inside he could feel two chakra signatures, one in particular that calmed him down, and he opened the door.

At once he saw Naruto snoring loudly on his couch, some drool dripping out of his mouth. An empty bowl of ramen was on the floor, with plastic chopsticks being the only thing that remained. Naruto had his head propped up on one of his arms; the other was dangling off the couch, his hand touching the carpet.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he took off his shoes before he closed the door behind him. Still, he was relieved to see Naruto there. In the past, Sasuke had absolutely despised being alone within the Uchiha estate. Inviting Naruto and Sakura to live with him had been a good idea; both of them were a lively bunch, and so it was rare for Sasuke to hear silence—something he was glad about, because, really, he had endured too much silence for the last few years.

Sasuke heard the sound of something clanking around, and smelt the aroma of something delicious. Following the smell led Sasuke to be in the kitchen, and he paused in the doorway. Had he been another man, a smile would've formed on his face; however, Sasuke made sure to keep his almost permanent pokerface on as he watched his petite teammate run around the kitchen, humming a cheerful tune under her breath as she walked around, preparing dinner. Briefly he wondered if this was the sort of pride a husband felt as he watched his adorable wife bustle around the kitchen. He quickly shook those thoughts away.

He cleared his throat.

Sakura didn't bother to turn around; instead, she reached up towards a cabinet, having to stand on the tips of her toes as she grabbed what looked like flour. "Hello, Sasuke," she said cheerfully as she sprinkled the white powder in the large bowl. Was she making soup? "How was your day?" she asked.

Sasuke continued to watch her, and as she bustled around the kitchen he couldn't help but have flashbacks of a time when it had been his very own mother that had done the very same thing Sakura was doing now.

He quickly shook the image of his mother out of his head and answered Sakura's question. "It was normal."

Sakura turned her head over her shoulder to look at him, a smile on her lips. "Normal? Then that's a good thing, right?" she teased.

Sasuke didn't answer. Instead, he walked over to the counter so that he stood a little closer beside her. He looked at the bowl, where the mouthwatering smell was emitting from. It looked like regular soup, with beef and many tomatoes. He wondered briefly if she had put in a lot of tomatoes for his sake, since they were practically his favorite thing to eat.

"Is that vegetable soup?" he inquired. "It smells good."

"Yeah, it is," Sakura said, beaming as she grabbed a wooden spoon, stirring the soup around. "It'll probably take a few more minutes. In the meantime, could you go and set the table? Naruto will probably wake up soon." She rolled her eyes, looking a little concerned. "That guy needs to rest more. Lately Tsunade has been having him stay up late, doing the paperwork for her. She claims that it's for his sake, so that he can get an early experience with those documents, but personally I think she's just abusing him. Poor guy." She shook her head, a grin spreading on her lips again.

"It's probably for the best that he learns early," Sasuke said, smirking. The sadistic side of him was glad that Naruto was exhausted, but he did feel somewhat bad for the blonde knucklehead. "At least Naruto knows what he's signed himself up for."

"True."

Sasuke put down three bowls on the counter so that it would be more easily accessible for Sakura to fill with soup; at the table, though, he placed three spoons and three cups. Once again, he found himself having more flashbacks. This time, though, he remembered how he and Itachi had been at that very table, laughing and talking together.

Those good days that will never come back…

But life was in the future. Sasuke knew that now. To live in the past was wrong. Even though the past had particularly precious memories for him, along with important lessons, Sasuke knew that living life to the fullest each day was what mattered. And therefore, he always tried to look forward towards the future. As he glanced at Sakura, he couldn't help but thinkthat the future would be very bright as long as he had her in his life.

"Done!" Sakura suddenly announced, shaking Sasuke back into reality. She looked absolutely pleased with herself as she began to pour the soup inside the bowls. "Can you go wake up Naruto for me, Sasuke?"

"Sure," Sasuke said. He walked on down the hallway before he stepped into the living room. Naruto was in the exact same position he'd been in twenty minutes ago when Sasuke had first entered the house.

He rolled his eyes before he poked Naruto's shoulder. "Oi. Wake up."

Naruto groaned and said something incoherent before he rolled onto his side, his back facing Sasuke.

A smirk spread across Sasuke's face. Well, if Naruto was going to be difficult, fine.

Sasuke had just finished forming the Fire Ball Jutsu signs, his mouth lowering towards his hands to get ready to blow the fire out, when he heard Sakura's surprised voice say, "Oi! Sasuke! Don't set him on fire!"

Sasuke groaned and immediately lowered his hands, canceling the jutsu out. He stared at Sakura blankly as he put his hands behind his back.

"I didn't do anything," he said innocently.

"You were about to set our teammate on _fire!"_ Sakura said, putting her hands on her hips—a position that _really_ reminded Sasuke of his mother at that moment. She rolled her eyes. "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself—that's what Shikamaru has always told me, and I guess he's right!"

She heaved a heavy sigh before she walked over to Naruto. Sasuke was worried for a brief moment that she was upset with him, but then he noticed that she was still fighting a smile as she tried to wake up their teammate in a much more safer way.

When Naruto finally woke up, the three of them headed back into the kitchen. Naruto started to drool again as he caught the strong smell of the warm aroma, staring at the bowl of soup with wide eyes that were filled with glee.

"Thanks, Sakura! You're the best!" he said cheerfully as he began to devour his soup with gusto.

"You're a kiss up," Sasuke muttered as he, too, began to eat. The soup really was delicious, though, even more delicious than the smell. The tomatoes were fresh, too, that much Sasuke could tell. He wondered briefly from which store Sakura had bought them from; he would have to ask her later.

Sakura beamed at the two of them before she began to eat as well. Naruto began to talk animatedly as the two of them continued to eat, as Naruto was by far the fastest eater out of the three of them and had already finished. Sasuke, though, found himself paying more attention to Sakura's face, watching her burst out laughing and her eyes twinkle with mirth at Naruto's antics, than what Naruto was actually saying.

"—and then she punched me through a wall!" Naruto said in outrage. "Can you believe that? _A wall!_ And then I told her, 'Hey, I'm the future Hokage, so you're gonna respect my authority!'"

"And how'd that work out for you?" Sakura asked, laughing.

Naruto winced. "Tsunade decked me really hard in the face—again. That's why I was so exhausted today. Shizune was kind enough to heal all the damage I received, though."

Sasuke chuckled. "Idiot," he said. "You need to be more careful about what you say."

"Especially with Tsunade," Sakura agreed. "Don't get ahead of yourself too quickly, Naruto. Tsunade is still the Hokage, and at the rate you're going, you'll never become the Hokage if you talk back to her that way."

Naruto rolled his eyes and propped his head up on his hand, his elbow resting on the table. "In any case, I'm hoping that Tsunade will be in a better mood in two days when I come back to go observe her. Maybe she won't hit me this time."

Sakura laughed again, causing Sasuke to smirk as he looked back down at his bowl. Listening to the two of them laugh and talk like that made him feel sentimental about his old family, and a hollow feeling blossomed within his chest.

Suddenly Sasuke pushed his chair back and got to his feet. "Thank you for the meal. It was great. I'm going to step out for some fresh air, so, uh, goodnight." And abruptly, he walked out of the kitchen, fully aware that the room had become absolutely quiet at his departure.

It was nighttime now. The moon wasn't quite full yet, but was it was starting to get more round. The stars dotted up the sky, and Sasuke felt oddly at peace as he took a seat on the lower step of the porch. He looked at the empty spot besides him and reflected on the conversations he used to have with Itachi. _"I'm going to be the wall that you will have to climb over,"_ his older brother had told him.

Sasuke took a shaky breath. No. He could not think about Itachi right now, not when he was so happy with his current "family."

Fireflies were floating around him, and he observed them lazily with a watchful eye. Vaguely he remembered that his mother would run around, catching the fireflies in a jar and present them to Sasuke so that he would have some light in his room. His mother would do the simplest of things—but in the end, it was those simple gestures that Sasuke missed the most.

Sasuke couldn't deny that he still felt some resentment towards the Leaf Village for what they'd done to his family. Not everyone in his clan had been cruel. Tsunade, though, had practically ousted all those that had turned against his family. Some of them had "mysteriously" disappeared, while others remained in jail, where they would remain.

Sasuke snorted. It was a good thing he had such close ties to Tsunade and his teammates. If he hadn't, he'd probably be under suspicion for the disappearances. No one ever spoke to him about it; however, Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi would occasionally shoot him these sympathetic, knowing looks whenever the disappeared ex-Leaf board members were brought up.

It amazed Sasuke that they were so at ease with him—especially Sakura. In an instant he could crush her—she was so fragile, compared to him!—but she always stayed near him, never once shying away from him. At first, Sasuke had been worried that Sakura would be afraid of him. He had tried to kill her, after all, back when he wasn't in his right mind. Regardless, the pink-haired woman remained friendly, and acted as outgoing and outreaching towards him as always. Though the Uchiha would never tell her aloud, he was grateful for all the kindness that she'd shown—that everyone had shown, really.

He wasn't sure how long he'd stayed out there, but it was definitely more than thirty minutes when he heard the gentle padding of someone's footsteps approaching him. His keen nose could smell a mixture of vanilla and mangos, a combination that made his shoulders loosen up a bit from the tension he was feeling.

Sakura didn't sit beside him, but instead, she stayed on her feet as she looked down at him. Sasuke didn't make eye-contact with her, though. He stared up at the sky, as if mesmerized by the stellar blanket.

Finally, she said, "It's kind of cold out here. Do you want a quilt?"

Sasuke took his gaze away from the sky and looked up at her. He allowed himself to give her a small smile. "No. But thank you for the offer."

"No problem," she replied, a hesitant smile on her face. She seemed to not know whether to stay with him, or to give him his space. It seemed like she was going to choose the latter option, as she was about to turn around, when Sasuke reached his hand out and grabbed her wrist. She whipped her head around, staring at him in surprise.

"You can sit out here with me," Sasuke said thickly. When Sakura's expression didn't change, he hastily added, "Or you can go on inside. I don't care."

"Thanks, Sasuke," Sakura said, taking an eager seat beside him.

They were quiet for a long time, both of them staring at the night sky. Sakura seemed to be more fascinated with the fireflies, though, and she reached her hand out. Sasuke wasn't surprised at all when one of the fireflies landed on her index finger, and he had to repress a smile as she stared at the tiny insect in wonder. Like his mother, it seemed like the simplest of things made more of an impression on Sakura than anything else.

"I can't believe that summer is already almost over," Sakura said breathlessly, watching as the firefly flew away from her. "I'm gonna miss these fireflies. They're so beautiful!"

"Fireflies are…cool," Sasuke said intelligently. _Great, she's gonna think I'm an idiot now._ Not that he cared what she thought. He _shouldn't_ care what she thought.

But, undoubtedly, he did. He cared a lot of what Sakura thought about him, and that bothered him.

Sakura turned her head, her smile impish. "Do you wanna catch them?" she asked excitedly.

"Catch fireflies? Isn't that a little too childish for our age now?" Sasuke said dubiously.

"What? Of course we're not too old for that! You're never too old to have fun, Sasuke!" Sakura said, bemused. She burst out in a fit of giggles. "Though, I suppose it would be sort of odd seeing _the_ Sasuke Uchiha run around and catch them."

Sasuke frowned. "What would make it look odd?"

"Because it's you," Sakura said with a short chuckle. Sasuke allowed himself to smile again—he was beginning to notice that he smiled a lot more when she was around—before another comfortable silence enveloped them.

It wasn't too long before he noticed Sakura shiver, though. She probably didn't want to leave to get a blanket, though, not wanting to ruin the nice calm atmosphere. Stubborn girl, she was going to catch a cold if she kept that up.

Without thinking, Sasuke wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side. "You're cold," was all he said before she beamed up at him in understanding.

"Thanks, Sasuke," she said. Her voice sounded so innocent, so genuine, that Sasuke wondered how it was possible that people would even _think_ about attacking her. His grip unconsciously got tighter, but Sakura didn't complain.

"Do—do you want to talk about it?" Sakura finally asked after a few moments passed, glancing up at him from the corner of her eye.

Sasuke glanced down at her, wondering in bewilderment how she always seemed to know that something was wrong with him. He shook his head in an attempt to get her to not worry, but she merely narrowed her eyes at him.

"I know you better than you think, Sasuke," she said warningly. "Don't try to shut me out."

"You little punk," Sasuke grumbled, and he rolled his eyes as she laughed amusedly.

He paused for a little bit before he sighed. "Watching you and Naruto…being so happy in my—our—house…it reminds me a lot of my previous family. I just had to leave the room. Don't misunderstand; I enjoy being in the company of both of you, and I'm glad both of you decided to live with me. But for some reason, today in particular, I've been having many flashbacks of my family, and I can't help but see them when I watch you two. Even being out here gives me some painful memories." He gestured to the porch they were sitting on, and Sakura furrowed her brow, pity evident on her face. Normally Sasuke loathed getting pity from people, but Sakura would be the exception.

Finally the pinkette let out a heavy breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that Naruto and me made you remember them. Would…would it be easier if we moved out?"

"No!" Sasuke was shocked at her conclusion, and he stared down at her in surprise. She, too, seemed shock with the force his voice had taken. Then, in a gentler tone, "No. That's not necessary. I'd rather have you both live here with me. To be honest, I'm happy that I'm having these flashbacks. So many of them I've repressed, you see. I—I just miss them all, so much."

Sakura stared up at Sasuke before she leaned more into his side. Oddly enough, Sasuke didn't mind; in fact, he thought it was extremely comfortable. Silently, Sakura was conveying her support, and he appreciated it.

"You're not alone," Sakura finally said. "Family isn't always in the blood, you know. They say that blood is thicker than water…well, to be honest, I don't completely agree with that. Naruto, you, and me: We're different. We're family, and we're gonna stick together. So don't you ever think that you're alone, Sasuke."

Sasuke smiled down at her and gently reached his hand up, patting her head. As he did so, he couldn't help but think about how he had killed so many people. Someone like him didn't deserve to be holding, or even touching, such a sweet young woman.

As if reading his mind, Sakura reached out her hand and grabbed his, holding it tightly as she locked her eyes with his.

Sasuke let out a heavy breath from his nose. "Eventually, Naruto and you will leave me. We won't always be a family, Sakura."

"What?" Sakura looked horrified. "How can you say that? Of course we will!"

Sasuke's gaze intensified; Sakura seemed to shrink back a little. "No. No, we won't. Naruto will one day finally wake up and realize that Hyuuga girl is in love with him, and then he will move out and marry her and have his future brats. And you…you'll also fall in love with someone. You're gonna have kids, too, Sakura, and then both Naruto and you will be so preoccupied with your families that you won't even think about me. Which," he added, with a shrug, turning his head away so that he wouldn't have to look at her, "won't hurt my feelings, so don't feel bad when that does happen."

"That's not true," Sakura whispered. "It's impossible for that to be true."

Sasuke whirled his head around to look at her, doubt clearly etched on his face. "What makes you so sure about that? You know it's true, Sakura."

"No," Sakura said, her voice more firm than before. "It isn't. I won't fall in love with another person, so you can forget that. Naruto will probably end up with Hinata someday, but we both know he will always come up and barge in your house. Naruto isn't himself if he isn't pissing you off, Sasuke."

Sasuke chuckled humorlessly. "You're right about Naruto," he agreed. "But you will fall in love someday."

"No, I won't."

"Sakura…now you're just being difficult."

"No I'm not! I say it because it's true. I'm already in love with someone, and I don't plan on ever falling for another person!"

Sasuke blinked. A pang of jealousy and hurt hit him in the stomach, as if someone had just sucker-punched him in the gut. He mentally berated himself; he should've seen that coming. Of course she would've fallen for someone at this point.

"Who is it?" Sasuke said, trying to keep his voice indifferent. "Is it someone Naruto and I know?"

Sakura blushed before she looked at her hand, which was still holding his. "I thought it'd be obvious, especially now." She looked back up at him carefully, trying to read his expression.

Sasuke, though, remained silent, his pokerface still on.

"Do I need to really spell it out for you?" she said, almost whining.

Sasuke nodded his head. "I want to know his name. Naruto and I need to check him out for you, to make sure he's not some slimeball that—"

"—I can assure you that he is _not_ a slimeball," Sakura interrupted. "He's kind, he has walls built up around him, but he's really cool, and he's a gentleman—when he wants to be. He has a tendency to be clueless and be as dumb as Naruto, but—"

"It's Naruto, then?" Sasuke said. Somehow the knowledge that she was in love with his rival—the number one idiot of the Leaf Village, no less—made him want to hit his head repeatedly on the nearest tree. "I should've seen that coming. The two of you did spend a lot of time together in my absence, after all."

Sakura gaped up at him. Finally, she snapped, "Are you an idiot?!"

Sasuke stared at his teammate in shock. Did she just insult him?

"What do you mean?" Sasuke demanded, unsure if he should be angry with her or not.

"I'm not in love with Naruto, you moron!" Sakura said, her face bright pink. "I was talking about _you!_ I'm still in love with you, you butthead!"

Butthead? Now she was insulting his _head?_ No one had ever insulted Sasuke before—not without getting their butt kicked, anyways. But coming from Sakura? Didn't she insult him _three _times? Sasuke was more than surprised; he was in shock, openly staring at her with his mouth slightly open as he tried to process her words.

Sakura…was in love…with him? Still? After all this time?

"You're still in love with me?" Sasuke said, feeling unsure of himself at the moment.

"I must've masked it pretty well, since someone as observant as you didn't notice," Sakura said quietly, much more calm now that she had let out her short outbursts. "But…I couldn't stop my feelings for you. Believe me, Sasuke, when I tell you that I tried. I tried so hard to forget about you. I tried to date other boys, but it never worked. I couldn't help but think about you…of how you would've acted…of what our date would've been like…of you in general. I couldn't—can't—get you out of my mind." She looked down at her lap, her shoulders stiff underneath Sasuke's arm. "I know how you feel about me, Sasuke; you don't like me like that, and I understand. But…just so you know…I could probably wait my whole life for you."

Sasuke watched in astonishment as a tear slipped out of Sakura's eye and fell down from her chin. Here she was, one of the most innocent, kind, loving people in the village—perhaps the world—and she was confessing to him. She was a healer and he was a killer. The two shouldn't even be together.

But Sasuke couldn't help but feel his heart soar with delight as Sakura confessed her feelings for him. He hadn't known that it was possible for someone to have such deep feelings like hers.

"I know I must sound pretty pathetic," Sakura went on, wiping at her eyes. "I probably sound desperate, too, but it really is how I feel. For you, Sasuke…I would wait forever. But," she added, looking up at him with worried eyes, "I don't want this to ruin our friendship. So, tomorrow morning, let's pretend this never happened, okay?"

She made a move to get to her feet, but Sasuke yanked her back beside him. "No. You didn't let me talk, Sakura."

She shivered. Sasuke didn't think it was because she was cold this time, either.

"Sakura, I'm not good with being vocal. I'm not good at expressing myself. You know this better than anyone else—besides Naruto and Kakashi, anyway." Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a habit he'd picked up from Naruto. "But…I feel the same way about you. I—I think I love you, Sakura. No…I _know_ I love you, Sakura. There's no other woman that could possibly make me feel this way. There's no other woman that can stir up so many emotions within me at once. Out of all the girls in the Leaf Village, you're the only one who has seen past my surface. I'm not the easiest to get to, but you…you managed to break through to me."

Sakura stared up at Sasuke, clearly baffled from his confession.

Sasuke grabbed her hand tightly. "What I'm trying to say is…I love you. And I care about you. So…will you go out with me?"

Sakura's eyes widened, and she said nothing for a few long seconds that Sasuke was beginning to fear that she was going to reject him despite what she'd said. How relieved Sasuke felt when, instead, the pinkette through her arms around his neck and tackled him in a bear hug, holding him tightly.

"I've been waiting for _years_ for you to ask me that," she said, smiling at him.

Sasuke smirked as their foreheads touched. "I apologize for the long wait you endured," he whispered.

"It was worth it," she quickly assured him.

Sasuke's smirk widened and then he gently grabbed her chin, tilting her head up before his lips touched hers. It was a chaste kiss—Sasuke was a gentleman, after all, he planned on taking things slow—and so he quickly pulled apart. Sakura's face was bright red from embarrassment, and for a moment Sasuke worried that she would faint like the Hyuuga heiress so often did whenever she was around Naruto.

Sasuke got to his feet, grabbing Sakura's hand and helping her to hers before they walked towards the house.

Naruto looked up at the two of them when they entered the living room and hastily put whatever it was he had been reading behind his back—undoubtedly it was one of Jiraiya's books, much to Sasuke's disgust.

"Hey you guys! What took you so long? You were gone for two hours!" Naruto said, quickly trying to shift the attention away from whatever it was he was hiding.

"Um…well…" Sakura tried to get words out, but she blushed, looking up at Sasuke uncertainly.

"Sakura and I are dating now," Sasuke clarified, his tone blunt as always.

"WHAT?!" Naruto bellowed, his voice obnoxiously loud as always. "NO! Now I'm gonna be a third wheel!" he complained.

"Not true," Sakura said, grinning. "We're still going to be a family, Naruto. Nothing's changed _that._"

"She's right. Besides, we're gonna take things slow. Be proper and all that," Sasuke said. Already he was thinking about marriage and black-haired children, but he didn't dare voice his thoughts aloud. He didn't plan on talking to Sakura about that for a long time, anyways; no need to scare her off.

Naruto glared at both of them. "You two have ruined everything," he finally grumbled. "I should've gone out there with you, Sakura. Then you two wouldn't be dating right now." At Sasuke's frown, he added, "Oh, sure, you two were going to wind up together eventually. I knew that. But I feel like this is happening way too soon!"

"Oh, Naruto," laughed Sakura, walking away from Sasuke's side and trapping her blonde teammate in a hug. "We're always gonna be together. Even if Sasuke and I don't work out, our team will always be a family." She turned to grin at Sasuke. "Right, Sasuke?"

"Right," Sasuke said.

"Group hug!" Naruto shouted, pushing Sakura and himself over to Sasuke and tackling the Uchiha in a hug, all three of them falling to the floor.

"You idiot," Sasuke grunted in pain, as Naruto's elbow was stabbing him in the ribcage. Sakura laughed loudly, though, and Sasuke couldn't help but grin. Naruto burst out laughing, too, and Sasuke finally allowed himself to join in their laughter.

Finally, the laughter died down, and all three of them were absolutely still, content to be laying side-by-side another.

"For the record, Uzumaki…Sakura and I are going to work out. Believe it."

Naruto turned his head and looked over Sakura to gape at Sasuke. "Did you just copy my catchphrase?"

"What?" Sasuke said innocently. "No. Of course not."

"Liar! You said, 'Believe it!'"

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not."

Sakura rolled her eyes and promptly punched both of them in their sides. "Shut up. You're ruining the moment."

"Touchy, touchy," Naruto muttered, but quieted when Sakura gave him a warning glare.

Sasuke smiled. Sakura was right. They were his family now. Even though the past hurt, he still appreciated all those times he had spent with his clan. Every laughing moment with his mother, his brother, and even his own father had been a gift. Even though Sasuke missed them all terribly—

"Hey, Sasuke, do you want to go outside and catch the fireflies now?" Sakura asked with a giggle. "Naruto agreed to help me, so I figured you could help out…if you want to, of course."

Sasuke grinned and got to his feet; during his musings, Sakura and Naruto must've had gotten up. Undoubtedly the knucklehead was already outside, chasing around the fireflies. "Sure. I'll be right there."

"Okay," Sakura said, and she quickly gave a chaste kiss on Sasuke's lips, smiling before she hurried outside to go help their blonde teammate.

—Sasuke wouldn't want to live his life any other way. They were his family now. And he would protect them this time.

* * *

**The End.**

**I really can't wait ****till Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto have a real heartfelt talk. I want to see some more bonding, especially with Sasuke and Sakura!**

**I don't have any NaruHina stories (yet), but lately Hinata has really been impressing me. I know some people don't like her, but I admire the fact that she's continually tried to make better changes for herself. **

**Anyways, review (please)! Your reviews mean so much to me!**


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